Politics Is Funny: Video Roundup

This just in: Mere days before the big election, Senator John McCain followed in the footsteps of his running mate by appearing on Saturday Night Live. Here, he and Tina Fey's version of Sarah Palin fake a campaign ad--and hawk campaign shwag--on the famous home shopping network. I guess we'll find out whether it was funny enough to win any of those undecided voters...

Let's start out at Saturday Night Live, where cast members have been mercilessly lampooning all the candidates for weeks. Tonight, Alaskan governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin stops by to open the show and check out Tina Fey's infamous impersonation. Does Fey make a better Palin than Palin herself? Does Palin look way hotter in person? Did she do a great job or did she just play it safe? Is she ready for election day?

Next up on our schedule is a trip to the second presidential debate, where Late Night's cameras captured Republican presidential candidate John McCain as he wandered far beyond the boundaries of the debate stage. Let's follow the senator as he roams through a salad dressing infomercial, an episode of Deal or No Deal, and a filming of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Where will he go next? Will he wander all the way to the White House?

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog takes us to our next destination: the third (and final!) presidential debate, held at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. Let's join him on a stroll through the spin room as he greets a mob of Hofstra students, chats with members of the press, catches a reporter watching the game on his laptop, and so much more. Debates are awesome...for Triumph to poop on!

Wait a minute; we need to give some screen time to the Democrats. Let's visit The Tonight Show, where vice presidential candidate Joe Biden sits down with Jay Leno to view and discuss some campaign ads. Leno shows us (and Biden) how the same footage can be made to seem very positive or extremely negative, depending on music and narration (yes, of course, these ads are both fake and funny).

Back at SNL, Darrell Hammond and Fred Armisen appear as John McCain and Democratic nominee Barack Obama in a spot-on reimagining of the third presidential debate. Chris Parnell--sitting in for moderator Bob Schieffer--provides hard-hitting questions and expert direction, and Joe the Plumber is discussed in depth. Hey, Joe, are you out there?

You know how the McCain campaign has been trying to distance itself from President Bush in an effort to win votes of Americans disillusioned with the Republican party? Do you realize that Bush is still president? Weird. Anyway, all those distancing efforts were apparently in vain. In this installment of SNL's Weekend Update, Will Ferrell arrives to reprise his Bush impression and give the McCain/Palin camp a heartfelt if unwelcome endorsement. Tina Fey and Fred Armisen appear as Sarah Palin and John McCain.

Let's take a little trip back in time, kids! Way back in the olden days of 1990. Saturday Night Live's Chris Rock took a seat at the Weekend Update desk to explain why there will never be a black vice president. Here's a hint: It has to do with some dude deciding to kill the president. Watch the clip for more important information!

And finally, MADtv gives us 40 minutes of the best political clips from the show's history, introduced by Keegan-Michael Key and Erica Ash as "Barack and Michelle Obama" and Bobby Lee and Arden Myrin as "John and Cindy McCain." You'll see an Obama music video, learn what North Vietnam thinks of John McCain, hear from Middle Eastern gonzo reporter Yazeed Al-Farooq of the Al Jazeera Action News Team, and more.

So which of these clips was the best? Do they make you feel better about the future of our nation? And what are some more of your all-time favorite political spoofs? Hit the comments box to clue us in.

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